I learned from watching all those home birth videos "which was my intentions on birthing" that moaning is what got most of those women through. Nice and loud. Like an animal.

It worked for my labor...until the 3rd day that is.

Thinking about you mama.

Moaning was the only thing that KIND OF made it better. Weird!

I watched A Baby Story all the time and laughed at all the med free ladies, saying "really? Really is that how it is?". Well I'll tell you, I apologized for making fun of them. I figured it out first hand about the moaning and the screaming. It's so real.

Thank you.... If he turns out like his daddy he will be a good looking man.

Tonight's class was interesting.... they recommend we join breast feeding support groups. I figured I have you guys for help and such.

You all have been wonderful friends through the years.

The best support I ever received, or advice rather....or should I say "tips" was if you really want to breastfeed, you will. Surrender to it for the first few weeks. And do it like you have to, like you have no other options...at least, that train of thought in the first few weeks...will help you be very successful. Because if you know the formula is there and the bottles are there....they're easier, and we are by nature, lazy....try and forget there is any such thing. (emergencies only) which are fewer than anyone will honestly admit or believe.So, do it like you have to and you will be able to and your baby will thank you and his belly will thank you and his brain will thank you.

I know you didn't mean anything harsh by saying bottles are lazy, but I had a problem getting Emelia to latch, and it stressed me out, and I was all set being frustrated and annoyed and upset and emotional when I should have been having a bonding experience with Emelia while feeding her. I pumped for 3 months and fed her breastmilk by bottle. She still got my breastmilk. She was still breast fed.

I think it's baloney that hospitals and people shove it down your throat that YOU HAVE TO BREASTFEED OR ELSE YOU SUCK AS A MOTHER, because that is how I was made to feel when I was at the hospital. Nobody told us any other option.

I have the personality that I generally feel bad about everything as it is, so add in that people were implying I was a shitty mother for not getting her to latch, and I was an emotional wreck those first few days home. I finally said fuck this, I am pumping religiously and giving her my milk by bottle, and I did, and she is awesome, gained all her weight back, and is still thriving.

We have since added in formula, and she still gets breast milk from my freezer stash. I also knew I was returning to work after 3 months, and sticking with my pumping schedule would have been rough at work, so I had to make the decision to add in formula.

That is just a piece of advice I wish somebody had told me before having the baby. It's not the end of the world if you can't breast feed. If you can pump, you are still breastfeeding. You aren't a horrible person. You have to do what you have to do.

Not at all. But women get sooo frustrated and they shouldn't. If you really want to, you can. And that piece of advice helped me with this last one. I always went to the bottles because they were just sooo much easier and sooo much more convenient. I just wanted to try and BF exclusively and see if I could do it and that is the advice that stuck.
Please don't get offended. It's not to offend. At all, it's just something that worked for me so I passed it on. And yes, we are lazy by nature and bottles are fucking so much easier in the first few weeks, no matter how you slice it. it was hard not to turn to them. But once I got them out of my head and out of my house, I was able to do it.
This is advice for someone who wants to breastfeed. That's all.

I don't think it's anyone else making you feel bad about your choices but you. If you're unsure about something then you're going to be sensitive. Especially with your first baby. YOu just stand your ground and do what you need to do and want to do. Just know you can and who the hell cares what anyone else says.

Eh, Rich can vouch for me and say one of the pediatrician's at our office that we don't usually see...she was kind of "why are you going to introduce formula" and snooty about it. He sensed it. When we left the hospital he was like, wha? How do we do anything else if we need to?

I dunno. Not trying to argue, and not offended, but I know it wasn't in my head that they were all pro breastfeeding and insinuating you suck if you couldn't do it.

I will say it was nice when i was pumping because Rich could assist in feeding her too. I know that was something he wanted to be helpful with. He would get up and feed her at 3am with my milk stored in the fridge, and I'd get up to pump. It was a big help.

Will I try breastfeeding with our next child? You bet! And if it doesn't work next time and I don't feel comfortable with it, I will go ahead and pump and do the same thing. I did try. Maybe not for 2 weeks, but I did try.

I found nursing to be really nerve wracking at first and everything went as well as it possibly could have with mine. I don't think there's a one size fits all for anything child/family related, but I was pretty lucky that both my husband's family and mine all nursed, so I had a lot of support. Even the bonehead brother in laws didn't say anything negative to me when I fed. The best advice I can offer is to to know who your support system is and use them. If you're interested in nursing, the know it all mother in law that bottled fed all of her babies and they turned out just fine, 40 ways to criticize, might not be your best/first choice to call when your stressed out about whether your baby is getting enough milk from you. (I don't know your mother in law, I'm just giving an example.) Right now you're accumulating all kinds of advice, tips, knowledge, and idea about what you think you might want to do, and once that baby comes you have to trust your instincts and do what you feel is best for you and your family. That might change from what you thought it was. It's all you can do. You will be a wonderful mother.

Aside from all the benefits of nursing to the baby, I found the single best benefit was rolling over to nurse in the middle of the night rather than having to get up, go fix a bottle, interrupting my sleep. I slept wonderfully when my babies were infants and dare I say, I even feel a little smug when I hear how other parents are exhausted from lack of sleep. But you have to be willing to have a family bed to do it that way.

DO NOT let them talk you into not eating chocolate. It's bullshit you totally can.

And that's it....one size does not fit all and women let themselves down so much when they actually do this and not just talk about it or read about it. Mothering is a whole different world once you're there doing it. If you are 100% sure you want to BF, then do it...just know it's not easy at first. Not at all. I'ts the hardest thing I ever did. But within a few short weeks...it's all set and established and there's nothing easier and more amazing. And after nursing and bottle feeding THREE babies...I decided I wanted to see if I really could do it exclusively the entire time she needed it. And welp, I did. If you don't have a problem doing formula, then do that and stick with it and DON'T MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BAD.

And Georgi, what you did...pumping and feeding is like the best and the worst of both worlds. Sooo much work and I commend you for sticking with that. I couldn't ever get anything pumping so I didn't even try with this last one. It was so time consuming and frustrating for me.
Babies are wonderful Enjoy your upcoming events mama. We're all here to support you either way you turn. No matter what>

That's awesome. It's amazing the things that happen like that. Aleks was a BITCH for the first 4 months. We couldn't do or go ANYWHERE!!!! it was sooo hard. Do you remember Georgi? my writings and rantings. All she wanted to do was nurse nurse nurse. OY!

We went to our friends (at the time) band who was playing in the SPAC park before the Dead show and she sat there alllll day....just listening and watching. She has been this amazing creature EVER SINCE THAT VERY DAY! Crazy. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Its amazing how people judge you because you do something different than them.... especially when it comes to raising your children.

I have learned so much from so many different mothers over the years as a nanny. I take what i like and what I think will work and will try it. If need be I adjust it.

I want to breast feed, hopefully baby moon will be able to. I haven't bought any bottles and I am going to try and not till at least 6 weeks into it. After that I will give him the occasional bottle so he knows what it is and Cameraman can be included in the feedings.

I would love for our baby to sleep after 4 weeks! You have one special little lady......

Judging someone elses parenting is like saying you hate a certain foods even though you never even tried it. You just can't do it. It's stupid and the people who do, really piss me off. I work at a baby shop and you should hear the bullshit these mothers talk about and say about other women. I like to think I am helping by not feeding into it and trying to make others realize you shouldn't do that. Remain humble.

I don't in any way shape or form consider myself an expert on anything. Just offering some opinions on what has worked for me and things I have learned. I hope nobody thinks I'm being a know it all. I am the first to admit I am not.

I am what I am today through some pretty harsh life lessons. Years of experience and years of life testing me. My arrogance used to get me into some pretty yucky places.
then I realized it was me who needed to change. Not everyone else. Whew, that was a tough one . And remaining humble will forever be my motto now.

I have learned so much...and do every single effing day. I am glad I was able to stay open to learn. some women are sooo caught in their own little heads and their own ways of doing things that there is no way of them ever listening to anyone but themselves. OY. Don't be "that" mom.